Combined barricade and flashing signal light



Jan. 2, 1962 E. D. NUNN 3,

COMBINED BARRICADEI AND FLASHING SIGNAL LIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May17, 1961 Jan. 2, 1962 E. D. NUNN COMBINED BARRICADE AND FLASHING SIGNALLIGHT Filed May 17, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Emu; g, S

Jan. 2, 1962 E. D. NUNN COMBINED BARRICADE AND FLASHING SIGNAL LIGHT 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 17, 1961 Iwm will

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United States Patent 3,015,804 1 t 1 COMBINED BARRICADE AND FLASHING I pSIGNAL'LIGHT Nunn, Mequon, wisq'assignor to Saukville, Wis,

iled May17, 196,1, Ser. No. 110,745 I Claims. (Cl. 340-81) nal Company,Inc., Wiscons' Northern Sig a corporation of view oi a portion of theflasher.

supported [cross bar for free swinging motion so as to yield to windpressure thereon and thus reduce the likeli-' hood of tipping, while atthelsarnetime enabling the panel and flasher to maintain an uprigh'tpositiondespite unevenness ,of the ground upo n'whichfihedevic'st'an'ds.

'One of the most aggravating'and trouhleso' e prob-' le'ms heretoforeencountered by contractors fa other users of fiashingsig'nal lights hasbeen causd 'biy seemingly irresistable jattra'ctio'n which [theseblinking:

lights have to manyipe'opl e not too mindful'of the com' mandmentagainststealing. The resulting 'uiilawful" appropriation of flasher units,especially when they have: been placed to'srve as warnings of dangerous'roador highway conditions, can and in many'instanceshas been the causeof very serious accidents.

With a view toward minimizing the theftofflashing signal lamps, andthereby reducing thelikelihood of accidents caused by lack ofappropriate warning'of a danger-' ous condition, the flasher unit ofthis invention is for all intents and purposes permanently attached-tothe barri cade on which it is mounted, sothat the only way 'in' which itcan be stolen is for the culprit to pick up and. carry away the entire.structure, and ordinarily this is sufficient dissuasion. l 1.

Another object of this invention is to provide a combined barricade -andflasher type signal, which folds into a compact relatively flat unit.for more convenient'st'orage.

With the above and other objects in viewiwhichwill appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by'the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The :accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of thephysical embodiment, of the invention, constructed according to the bestmode sofar devised for the practical application of. the principlesthereof, and in which; i

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of .thecombined barricade and flashingsignal of this invention, illustrating the same in its operativeposition of use;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the unit in its operative position of use; vV

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the unit shown folded for storage andtransportation; e v FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail viewillustrating'the manner: in whichftheleg units of the device are.connected to, and support ,thepanel of the barricade;

. 015,8 4 Patented Jami 2,1962

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view'of the structureshown in FIGURE4;

'-FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a por-. tion-of the unit,to illustrate particularly the manner in which the flasher is mounted;

v, l' lG URE 7 'is a longitudinal,sectional'view through the flashertandI FIGURE8 is enlarged fragmentary: detail sectional Referring nowparticul; ly to the accompanying draw ings, the numerals 10 and 11-designatespacedapart leg units, each of which consists of apainofihingedly connected legs v12, preferably made of angleiro'n, Theselegunits are connected attheir. upper ends bya roundi rod 13 and; neartheir lower ends by cross pieces 14.

The hinged connection .between athe-legs 12, of each leg, unit comprisesa connecting member 15, and a bolt 16. which passes through one of thefianges'of each angle iron legl and through the connecting-member.;'Preferably the [connecting member -15 is a square tube having flatinner'and outer walls 1 7 and 18, respectively, connected by sidewalls19.v ..The width ofthese walls is slightly, less thad-thatfof theflanges ,ofthe angle iron;legs,.and h hiq i Bolt} 'I6 pa sses' 3 arenearer the edges 0f the flanges than the. flanges] of the legs throughwhich.t he1 at e's tliereof, ,so' thatthe l'egs may be folded-,upon' oneanother'.' To guard againshdisa s sembly of the leg units, the nuts 16'of the hinge lbolts are pinned to the olt specificallyltothe connectingmembers of -the leg, units in iafway jwhich ,aifords maximum assuranceagainst dis'assemblyi of the structure. Thus, ;as .,best, seen in.

FIGURES 4 and 5, the. end portions o f the rod 13 are; seatedinupwardly'opening-notches 20 in the inner=wall s; 1 7 of the connectingmembers, in coaxial alignment with holes '21 .inlthe outer walls 18 of.the connecting themhers. Screws 22 with round head s 23, havingtserratededges are passed through the holes '21 and threaded into sockets24 inthe en'ds-oftherod 13. w

To guard against unauthorized removal. are; 2}, torque applyingengagement with the heads of the screws is' restricted bygcup sha'pedguards 25. These problem to manufacturersof special screws and fasten-.

ing devices; and as will be obvious, because of the guards and thesubstantially round. shape of they screw heads, aspecial socket wrenchis required to tighten or loosen the screws. I I

g The rod 13 has a panel 30 and a flasher unit, indicated generally. bythe numeral 31 mounted thereon in a-m'anner allowing both to swingfreely about the rod 13 -in-, dependently of one another, and tonormallyha'ng in a vertical or upright position. e

The panel 30 preferably consists of a woodenboard ormetal plate, withmounting straps 3 l'onits ends. The straps 32 have loop portions 33which freely rotatably engage over the rod 13. Hence 'the'panel 30 hangsfrom the rod and normally maintains an upright or vertical position,despite the fact that the legs may stand The rodi' lfs connected to theleg and more I screws:

on uneven ground. Being freely suspended in this manner, the panel 30also is free to yield to wind pressure thereon,- which reduces thelikelihood of the entire barricade being tipped over by the wind.

Any suitable warning indicia may be painted or otherwise delineated onthe panel, as for instance diagonal stripes, 34 applied with .lur'ninouspaint or the like. In any event, the panel should have'an attentionattracting appearance, andwhile it-is-preferably in the form of a stiffb'oard'.-or plate, it could b'e-m'ade of heavy fabric The flasher 31consists otaianip 'u'nithaving; a lightbulb. 36 mounted-betweenoppositely facing coaxial colored lenses 36', a battery 38, and flashermechanism 39 which periodically enacts energiZation-of the light bulbfrom the current delivered by the battery; Since this invention .is: notconcernedwiththe circuitry or str'uo, ture of the -flasher mechanism, ithas not been illustrated. The im ortant consideration, from thestandpoint of this inventiom is that the battery and the flashermechaism are housed within a relatively strong metal container or box'40; and that the lamp unit is pe'rmanei'ltly mounted on the top wall41" of this box or contained The rod 13 passesthrough the upper portionof the boxoreontainer, and since the battery, which is quite heavy, isin the-bottom of th box, the point atwhi'ch the rod 13 passes throughthe box is a bove thejcenter of'gravity of the entire unit-. Hence theflasher unit, like'th'e panel-30, is'fre'e to swing about-the rod 13 andto hang intin-upright position with the axis of the lenses 36 normal tothe vertical axis of the box 40 assiiring that the flashing signal willbe effective as a warning despite the fact that the ground upon whichthe. barricade stands may'not be level, j i

*To assure that the panel and the flasher unit may swing independentlyof one another, a short spacing collai 45 is placed on the rod 13-between the box of the flasher unit and the adjacent mounting strap ofthe Ip'anel,

, ana -so that the leg units will not interfere vith free swinging ofthe flashe'i'funit and the panel, similar spacing couarsas'are mountedonthe end portions of the rod-"13. e V

Thespecific construction of the lamp unitrerms per seino part ofinvention, and hence need not be definedhere; Theinanner in which thelamp unit is mounted on the top wall 410i the box or container, however,is tsignifican'tto this invention because it helps niake'thedevice asindestructible and reliable as possible.

- Asbes't seen 'i'n FlGUR E s, the top wall 41 at the boit'or containerhas a relatively largadiameter round hole 4 7, and secured "to themarginal edge of this hole is a disc or flexible weatherproof material,such as polyvinyl chloride. At its center, the disc 48 has a holethrough which a nipple 49 projecting downwardly fr'om the lamp, passesto have a clampingnut 50 threaded thereon and clamped against theunderside of the resilient disc 48. The disc thus'pro'vi'de's a shockresistant mounting for the lamp unit, 7 g V g As indioatedhereinbe'fore, the lamp unit, like thepanel, is nee to swing about therod 13 in response to wind pressure thereon, but preferably the extenttheffias'her unit-may swing is limited "by a stop 51 projecting from thelower parrot its housing to collide with one or the other-"of theadjacent legs if the'flash'er unit is swung too far.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art, thatthisinvention provides a g'reatly'improve'd barricade and flashingsignal, which in addition to possessing an exceptionally pleasingappearance has the -significant advantage of being stable even in a higlwind, tind r-normally maintaining itswarning panel and flasher 'unit inan upright clearly visible positiondespite unevenness of the ground uponwhich the device may stand.

What ,isclairned as myinventionis: t v

l. A warning barricade comprising the combination of: spaced apart legunits; a panel having an attentionattracting appearance; a flasher unitincluding a lamp, a battery lens means through-which the light of thelamp shines, mechanism to periodically energize the lamp with currentfrom the battery, and a closed metal container housing the battery andsaid mechanism. and having the lamp and the lens means mounted thereonwith the axis of the lens means transversetothe vertical axis of themetal container so that the container must be in an ipright position forthe lamp to provide an ettective warning, saidclosed metal containerhaving opposite upright side walls with aligned holes therein-above thecenter of gravity of the flasher unit; a rod supported at itsends uponsaid leg units, the rod passing through said aligned holes in the sidewalls of the metal container to hingedly support the flasher unit in anupright position despite unevenness of theground upon which the le'gunits stand; and m'ean's hingedly connecting thepanehabove its center ofgravity with said rod so that the panel normally hangs a Verticalposition but is free to swing in response to wind pressure thereon.

an barricade or main 1, wherein each leg unit comprises a pair of legs",hing'edly connected at their upper end fporjtions' the meansforihingedly connecting each-pair at legs; comprising a connectingmemberto whiclii both legs of the pair are hingedly attached, saidconnectingniember havinga portion thereof projecting above the legs andhaving a hole'therethirough; internal- 1y thi-eade d sockets in the endsor' the rod; and ascrew passing. thr ough said hole in each of theconnecting members and fthreadedinto the socket in the adjacent end ofrod, each screw ,having ahead bearing against the adjacent connectingmember, whereby the connecting members are secured to. the .rod anddetachment of the flasher unit from the rod is prevented except uponremoval of one of the screws. j

a 3. The barricade of claim 2, wherein the upwardly proje'cting-endportion of each of said connectingmembers isitubu'lar andhas inner .andouter walls spaced. apart along th'e'axis, of the rod, the outer wallshaving the screw receivingholes therethrough and the inner walls having:upwardly opening notches therein, the end portions of the rod beingreceived in said notches and supported by the (bottoms thereof coaxiallyof the holes, and the outer walls being confined between the heads of,the screws and the ends of the rod.

:4, The barricade of claim 3, wherein the legs are angle ironsand theconnecting member for each pair of legs is a four-sided tube, andwherein the hinged connection between the legs and the connecting memberis a single bolt passing through two opposite walls of the tube-andthrough one of the flanges of each angle'iron leg, the legs-being sodisposed with respect to each other that the inside faces of theirflanges face each other and thus embrace the. tube.

5. A portable warning device comprising the combination of: an electriclamp; lens means through which the light of the lamp shines when thelamp is energized; a battery; mechanism t to periodically en'ergiie thelamp with current from the battery; a closed metal box containing thebattery and said mechanism and having said lens means and the lampmounted on and projecting from the top of the closed metal box with theaxis of the lens means transverse to'the vertical axis of the box; thebox with the battery, said mechanism, the lamp and the lens meansconstituting a flasher unit; the metal through the aligned holes in theside walls of the metal box of the flasher unit to swingingly mount theflasher unit between the leg units, so that the flasher unit is free toswing about the rod and to hang in an upright position at which its lensmeans is in proper position for the lamp to provide an efiective warningdespite unevenness of the ground upon which the leg units stand; andmeans protecting the connections of the rod with the leg units againstunauthorized disassembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS LufkinJune 21, 1932 Joerger et a1. Dec. 4, 1934 Bell May 16, 1950 Schamel Aug.11, 1953 Martin et a1. Jan. 15, 1957

